You can count me out (in):

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

It seems as many people are victims of the present morass in
the present economy. Many have been laid
off as the private and public sector has downsized under the banner of budget
cutting. Others have just entered the
job market, such as veterans returning from Afghanistan and recent college
graduates. Many are qualified, but few
are finding jobs. Those that do find
jobs are finding that they are paying near starvation wages or unstable. They are still working, but also looking for
better jobs. Now, we know that the true unemployment rate is not approximately
8% but more near 20%. Unemployment
figures are being manipulated for the political advantage of both parties
during the election year. There is just too much demand for the supply. Yet,
before 2008, there was about 2 % unemployment.
What happened? This has been
covered by many economists. This is not a normal financial downturn, but the
result of a major disaster caused by the wealthy grabbing more for them and the
middle class getting the same income adjusted for inflation. This is similar to the situation before the
crash of 1929. Yet what has the government done? They bailed out Wall Street
and GM, but didn’t alleviate the suffering of most of the population. The battle lines have been drawn between the
Right and the Left. The polarization
between the two is such that no compromises have been made to address any of
the problems in the American economy. What is the average American do to go around
this and survive if not prosper? As
individuals, we cannot accept this situation as “the new normal” as some
economist proclaim.

Our approach as the 99 Percent must be both short-term and
long-term. is to think ‘outside of the box.’
We cannot continue to churn in the plight that has been delivered to us
by the One Percent. It is not acceptable
for qualified creative people to be receiving unemployment or being unemployed
on a micro or macro level.

The first preliminary step is to recognize that the
present system of capitalism is decaying and any effort to work within it will
result in frustration and ultimate failure.
The second preliminary step is to visualize what you can do as an individual to go
around this decay and build an alternative existence that will benefit you and
your family and be in coordination with others building “the New Economy”, “the
New Democracy” and the next paradigm. Some
of this is already happening ‘by accident’ and others by direct action. One of the problems inherent in this situation
is a feeling of disconnection and lack of solidarity. This is changing, but slowly. In fact, we
have to recognize that this disconnect is being manipulated by the One Percent
for their own selfish purposes. The
issues are extremely complicated and interrelated and can be seen as an
insurmountable barrier.

In order to survive, we have to
decouple ourselves from the ‘traps’ that have been set for us which mostly
revolve around consumerism. We have been
brainwashed that we have to have things beyond just mere survival or what we need. Most things we think 'we need', is the result of being fooled by the marketing ploys of major corporations. Our peceived needs have been developed to to
get us hooked on credit and dependent on the One Percent, thus feeding them. In the remainder of this blog entry, I will start to enumerate ways that people
can survive personally and also how this makes a statement in done
collectively. Many people are already doing this. What they may not be aware of is that they are also making a a public statement.

Step Number One is: eliminate all credit
cards and live according to your family’s income and put money into credit
unions. This action works on various
levels. For an individual, it is absolutely
necessary to survive. For a message to
the One Percent, it means I am divesting myself from you and giving you less
power over my life. If enough people did
this , there would be a collapse of major banks and financial institutions.
They would cease to have control and the majority of financial control would be
allocated to the shareholders of credit unions. You as a member of a credit union have a say
in financial policies. The major banks
don’t want this, so they will do everything to prevent their downfall.

Step Number Two is: buy nothing new. You can
find many acceptable items for your household such as clothes, appliances,
furniture, automobiles etc. at yard sales or thrift stores such as
GoodWill. Most are more than reasonably
priced and in good condition. You have to
be a discerning shopper as there are no warranties associated when you buy at
these venues. Most retail items are
over-priced and wear out just as fast as those bought at yard sales and thrift
stores. If you avoid purchase of a
vehicle in places that have good public transport, this would also be a good
move that would decrease all the costs related to owning a vehicle (i.e.,
insurance, gas, etc.) These items are normally should be bought with cash or
with available funds in accordance with the first step. For those with minimal income, you will find
your budget goes much further. This ultimately
sends a message to the One Percent that you do not buy into consumerism and
over the long term will cause the collapse of ‘big box’ stores such as Walmart
who pay workers barely above minimum wage, support outsourcing and exploit developing
nations.

Monday, July 09, 2012

I read today (9 July 2012) a tragic story in the Huffington
Post of a woman and her child that are
now living in a storage locker (see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-s-goodman/latest-jobs-report_b_1654661.html
.)The woman is not a drug addict, has
emotional problems or otherwise unemployable.She, like many are victims of a horrible economy where there are too
many qualified people seeking a job in amidst a stagnant or declining job pool
for their skills. Meanwhile, those that
could alleviate this problem are doing nothing. The onus is upon individuals acting in concert
to create solutions as those ‘elites’ which we once thought could give
solutions absolutely do not care.

The political pundits are calling high unemployment and a stagnating economy
for most developed countries, the ‘new normal.’What an absolutely dismal prediction!It also means by extrapolation, the increasing disparity of incomes and
increasing of wealth, not only in the developed world, but the developing.This may be sustainable in their eyes, but in
actuality is non-sustainable, even within the present boundaries of
capitalism.The present state will
result in a collapse of the retail/service sector as people will have declining
income and a further slump in the housing market, as most will not be able to
afford houses.Although there is some
indication that incomes are slightly rising among the middle class and there is some increase in
housing prices, this is an aberration among the reality of almost 20 Percent
actual unemploymentand an overwhelming
decline in absolute wages. These experts must realize that there is no status
quo, that an economy must grow or it must decline.

This acceptance of this new reality is now present in the public
forum.It is commonly heard amoung the
lackeys of the One Percent that those who do not have work are lazy and not
open to other opportunities.This basically
translates into: “You are not willing to accept minimum wage jobs which equate
to living at poverty level, while we (the One Percent) live off your labor, manipulate
financial markets, and increase the funds that we inherited. “ In addition, many of the unemployed or
under-employed hear the statements by others who may still have full-time jobs,
“It could be worse. You could be living on the street.”This is not comforting because it means with
the end of your unemployment, the depletion of your savings and a low paying
job, if you can find one, your fate will soon be that of a homeless person.
This is the antithesis of the American Dream. This has already happened to manyThey have depleted their unemployment, their
savings and have even lost a low payingjob, as referred to earlier.

This is not
acceptable!All citizens of the
world must organize to create a different future.There is a new economy and new political
reality developing, but it is not status quo or a revision or minor reform.
The new economy is already developing as financial capitialism is declining.The One Percent want us to accept this
decrepit form of capitalism as the ‘new normal’ because it suits their short
term aims of increasing their wealth and of completely turning the majority of
the world into economic slaves and lackeys.

We, as individuals, must take responsibility for change
within our limited spheres of operation which have been defined by the One
Percent.We must think “outside of the
box.”This “box” is a metaphor for a ‘universe’
or paradigm which is collapsing and creating multiple tragedies because whole
populations have become victims of its perverse nature.The ultimate tragedy is of those who have
signed up willingly for the armed forces to fight not one tour of duty, but
several and do not come back, or come back physically or mentally damaged. Many
would not have signed up if the unemployment rate had not been so high.The unemployment rate is serving the One
Percent in their aims to solidify most as economic slaves for their purposes. Now, they are planning their next war, which
is one with Iran. If the developed world follows their dictates, it will lead
to further tragedy.

Working outside the
box will not take the form of one form of action, but numerousforms reflecting the complex and
interconnected world that is now the norm.

In future blog entries, I will explore some, but definitely not
all of the methods that indivduals, cities, and nations can work outside of the
box.

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Many people in the United States and in other countries are
still towing the line according what has been given to them. You hear the tired phrases like:
Don’t complain; You will find a job---you just have to have hope; If you work
hard, you will get ahead; You are just not looking hard enough and other meaningless
platitudes. Those that say this, with
good intention, are merely saying this because they don’t want to recognize
reality. The first reality is that many
people are unemployed, under-employed or fearful that that they will lose their
jobs, or stuck in jobs that offer little increase in wages and no opportunities.
The second reality is that citizens of
any country have absolutely no control of their destiny because everything is
now controlled by corporations and the economic elite that have no interest in
making things better for the public, just making higher profits for their
stockholders and accumulating more money to influence politics, and enable
speculation and financial ‘gambling’ such as hedge funds and derivatives.

Although it will not help improve the personal status of many people, the mere
recognition that one is fully aware that: The American Dream is a now a Myth propagated
by the One Percent; Democracy is a sham in the United States and other
countries because of the pervasive power of multi-national corporations and economic
globalization; There has never been a free market and waiting for a magical
recovery is a delusion manufactured by economic royalty; Capitalism in its
present form in obsolete and harmful to the majority of global citizens; and
Deliberate, thoughtful, pragmatic and substantial change, not readjustments in financial systems,
is the only way to improve democracy and the economies of the world—is progress. Political and economic changes will follow if
Americans and other people recognized these basic premises.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Somehow
the members of the Tea Party have a hard time grasping the logical connection as illustrated in the above graphic. The US
Government is controlled by the One Percent. Therefore, there is no
difference between the two. Actually, the Tea Party and the Occupy
Movement should be on the same side. The Tea Party itself has become the
vassal of corporate interests and the economic elite, being diverted
from its original protest against the bailout of major banks. When they
wake-up to the fact that they are supporting their oppressors, you will
see all popular support will drain from supporting the puppets of the
One Percent. This will further broaden the Occupy Movement transforming it from a minority to a majority movement. Ultimately, We the People must see that both parties have been corrupted by 'big money' and this is not a partisan struggle, but one of the majority confronting the tyranny of the economic elite. This is about defending American democracy and upholding the values of the Declaration of Independence and The U.S. Constitution.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Dr. Wolff discusses the problems of the present global political economy in a very straight forward manner.
These are not contrived or manipulated statistics, nor are the basic assumptions, which other economists, such as Reich, and Krugman agree. What is different is Wolffs proposal for the future which is basically the formation of worker-owned enterprises overtaking the present economic system. This is happening 'under the radar' with the diversion of money from corporate banks into credit unions, the increased proliferation of energy co-opts, the formation of state banks, and the slow increase in worker or employee owned small enterprises. This is the beginning of the New Economy, slowly eroding the control of the One Percent and pointing toward a new and better future for all citizens.

Capitalism, as we know it, is 'gasping for breath.' announcing the demise of a plutocracy dominated by the One Percent. Why do you think that the multinationals and the economic elite are pouring millions of dollars into the campaigns of 'their owned party"--the Republican Party? (Be also aware that their multinationals are loyal only to the U.S. as it serves their needs for increased profits, have no social concussions, and will without hesitation abandon any nation not serving their needs.) Why do you think they are using their media to convince the masses that the status quo is the best for them and spewing out some of the most egregious propaganda about the left, including the Occupy and Progressive Movement and stooping to mud-sling moderate Republicans and Democrats. They know that the end is near for their domination of politics and the economy. They have no solutions. Do you think that magically that by cutting the budget, eliminating departments, reducing regulations, keeping lower taxes for the wealthy and continual unrealistic defense funding that the economy will suddenly recover? Absolutely not. You wonder who can believe in the Republicans' 'half-baked' economic proposals, which only serve the One Percent. The systematic problems with the American political economy (and also the global economy) as outlined by Dr. Wolff in the video, are deeply structural and beyond minor adjustments. Unfortunately, the Middle Class followers of the Republicans have realized this yet. When they do, they will leave the Republican Party in mass and join the present Occupy and Progressive Movement. The Republican Party will go the way of the Whigs and be an anachronism--which they are now. but the majority in their party have not realized this yet. The electorate of France and the Netherlands have already determined that austerity is not the solution. However, neither is going back to a stagnant economies burdened with crippling social programs. structures.

We are 'on the cusp' of a new political economy that will prosperity to all the citizens of the world, and environmental and energy sustainability. The solutions revolve around significant changes in democracy, the
economic structure, global cooperation, and adopting measures that will
ensure sustainability, both for Europe, the U.S. and for developing
nations. These changes will not be without turmoil, conflict or further
strain to national political and economic The demise of the control of the One Percent is inevitable. But, in this struggle, the new reality and paradigm will slowly emerge.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Everyday,
I receive messages from various Progressive candidates and the Obama
campaign urging me to give more so that they can equal the amount of
money that is being spent by the Republicans. (Although I support the
message of Progressive candidates, I find their frantic messages about
funding distracting to their message.) The message is clear, although
these candidates are blind to it, is that
American politics is not about the issues, but about how much money one
can spend to spread partisan propaganda. The underlying fault now in
American democracy is that campaign funding has become a barrier to its
even partial functioning. We have to eliminate or reduce campaign
funding by corporations and wealthy individuals and return democracy
back to the people. The real issue is not if this or that candidate is
elected, but that the basic underpinnings of American democracy which
are being threatened by the increasing influence of the One Percent.
This spending frenzy is the direct result of the Citizen's United ruling
by the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is above politics. The
American electorate is deluded that contributing to one candidate or
another will change anything. Real change will only happen when there
is a bipartisan effort (demanded by the people) to change the operation
of the political process through a Constitutional Amendment. Although
radical, my proposal would be change the present system into a
parliamentary one and have funding of elections though a blind fund
where no individual or corporation will know who their money is being
directed. (This was proposed by Robert Reich in his book,
Supercaptialism.) However, the evolution of American politics and
capitalism will not ocurr overnight, but unfortunately will be brought
about by another crisis.

Sunday, May 06, 2012

Although somewhat dated, this is a very good video and good introduction to the text below. Notice that in this video that the commentator states that even the head of the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2012 stated that 'capitalism is dead.'

Yes, capitalism is gasping for breath. We have been
experiencing the death of capitalism for at least thirty years. It has not been
apparent because it was masked by many factors. The world has changed and many
are holding on to a paradigm that emerged in 16th Century and
persisted till the late 20th Century. The evidences of a dying
system are: income inequality, environmental degradation (i.e, global warming,
depletion of the Amazon rain forest, over-fishing, genetic engineering and
decrease of agricultural species), a dependence on non-renewal resources for
economic growth sustenance, uneven regional economic development, domination of
multinational corporation over national interests, and faltering economic
growth (slow/stagnant in developing countries, erratic in developing
countries.)

In the ashes of a dying
capitalism, a phoenix is rising to take its place. It is now nebulous, but
slowly coalescing and has been for decades.
With the economic crisis of 2008 and the continuing stagnation, it is evident that this is ‘the end of the line’
for capitalism. (It is not the end of the free market for the exchange of
goods, services, ideas, technology and now, software. This is alive and well, but has been
manipulated for the benefit of the One Percent under the guise of protecting
capitalism.)The solutions that have been applied and are being proposed by
nation-states, supranational organizations and think tanks are merely ‘band-aids’
to a system that needs not just overhaul, but creative destruction. The present form of capitalism will not slip quietly
away, as those who have a stake in its present form will use any means to keep
it alive so that can ‘pick off the remnants of the corpse.’

The clues for the formation of this new paradigm are being
found in emerging movements such as the Occupy Movement, Progressive Movement
in the U.S., the international Pirate Party, the democracy movement in the
Middle East, Africa and South America, global environmental movement, and the
growing dissent in China. These coalitions
are presenting not just alternatives, but the building blocks for the next
paradigm, replacing those of Modernism/Post-Modernism, Industrial/Post-Industrial,
Fordism/Post-Ford- ism, and Realism/Noe-Conservatism/Liberalism. While many from
the traditional Left and Right would like to tag these movements within the
context of Marxism/Socialism/Anarchism, it is not following or adopting the overall
premises of these philosophies, to the dislike of both political spectrums who
would like to either bring them under their umbrella (the Left) or discredit
them (the Right.)

The emerging paradigm
is a hybrid of past political and economic philosophies being energized and
transformed by globalism and technology.

What do we call this new paradigm? The best so far has been to term the next
form of economics ‘natural capitalism’ as outlined by Paul Hawkins, Amory
Lovings and Hunter Lovings in their book, Natural Capitalism: Creating the
Next Industrial Revolution. (For further
information, go to the books website at: http://www.natcap.org/
.) However, this does not adequately encompass
the developing paradigm. There are hints
of the formulation of this paradigm in works by Robert Reich (Beyond Outrage,
After Shock,Supercapitalism—for more information go to : http://robertreich.org/), Richard Wolff (Democracy
at Work: A Cure for Capitalism, Occupying the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, Capitalism Hits the Fan:
The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It and many others—for more
information go to : http://rdwolff.com/ Paul
Krugman (End this Depression Now!, The Conscience of a Liberal,
and more—for more information go to: http://www.pkarchive.org/
. Always controversial and interesting
is Noam Chomsky, his new book, Occupy, concerns his views on the
Movement and can be order via the
Zucottti Park Press at http://www.zuccottiparkpress.com/chomsky.html.
A new book, which I am just starting to
read is a collection of articles concerning the Occupy Movement, The Occupy
Handbook, offers diverse and interesting views from a wide variety of
authors. It is available from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/The-Occupy-Handbook-Janet-Byrne/dp/0316220213
) or Barnes and Nobles (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-occupy-handbook-janet-byrne/1107957786
.)

The above authors are not political pundits, such as Rush Limbaugh,
Glen Beck and others speaking for the Tea Party and the new conservatives
(notice the little ‘c’ as I don’t believe these guys are true Conservatives.) If
you take a more than casual glace, among them are experienced energy experts,
professors in Economics and Political Science, a renowned linguist and social critic, and a Noble Peace prize
winner. These people are not flakes,
wild-eyed kooks, but knowledgeable and sane individuals who have studied
problems and present the framework for a new future.

The Tea Party which is dominating
the Republican Party are merely stooges for the One Percent. They betray the
Conservatism that W.F. Buckley, Jr. single-handily created which was
intellectual, fair, respectful of the opposition, and well-grounded in Conservative
economic and political theory. I think he
would be appalled at the viciousness of the rhetoric of the Tea Party, the brazenness
of the supporters of the Republican Party to pour money into campaigns to
malign candidates, the uncompromising positions being held toward moral issues,
their anti-intellectual nature and the overt and ‘not so’ covert adoption of the
principles of Ayn Rand. In addition, the Tea Party has drawn to it those who
believe in conspiracy theory, survivalists and perhaps Neo-Nazis. It is a motley
bunch that true Conservatives are probably hesitant to be associated.

The body of work that are being created by the aforementioned
intellectuals are preparing the foundation of a new future. It is one of hope,
prosperity, equality, justice, direct democracy, peace, protection of the environment,
responsible energy use, and ultimately the creation of a sustainable world. The
Republicans and their brand of conservatism represent a thinly veiled attempt
to maintain the status quo mainly to keep the One Percent on top, controlling the
world for their selfish ends and maintaining a capitalism that is corrupted and
unsustainable. This is a Hobbesian world
through the philosophical eyes of Ayn Rand. Their agenda will surely fail because
it translates into tyranny and many in the U.S. and the world now know exactly what
is their aim.